Dede Sophie

Stapelia schinzii is a rarely seen (at least it is in the United Kingdom)  clump forming succulent plant grown for its impressively large, ornamental flowers. Native to Namibia, Southwest Africa the roughly star-shaped blooms open to show the largest of all native Stapelia blooms at an impressive 20 cm in diameter! Un the UK the flowering period will be around September Its native habitat is found between 800-2000 meters above sea level yet unlike the majority of cacti tends to be found growing in the shade of other plants. Once established Stapelia shinzii can form a lax clump of approximately 100 cm in diameter. It is difficult to find a specimen to purchase but sometimes propagation material can be found online. Stems should be allowed to callous off for a few days before planting into a good quality, compost. Avoid free draining or specialist cacti composts as these will keep the root system too dry. water regularly over the summer but never leave the compost waterlogged or complet

Nissan’s Qashqai is the brand’s biggest seller in Ireland, writes Brian Byrne. By a long shot — last year the C segment SUV sold more than twice the number of the company’s second best performing model here, the iconic Leaf EV. This is the third generation of a nameplate first rolled off the assembly line in 2007. At that time, anticipating the trend of crossover-SUVs for the family car market, it was designed to replace both the Almera compact and the Primera large family saloon models, both aged and tired. The strategy worked, and Qashqai boosted both the carmaker’s reputation and its bank balance. The strange-sounding name was used in Europe — variants were sold in other markets under more normal monikers, such as Rogue in the US.  The original quite soft style has sharpened up through the last two iterations, with the current car having a very strong presence indeed. The stylists have provided edgy shapes, managing to meld curves and angles into unexpectedly attractive elements. It